


Brave New World

by lydiamartin (dwinchester)



Series: Beacon Hells [3]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-10
Updated: 2013-03-14
Packaged: 2017-12-04 22:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/715644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwinchester/pseuds/lydiamartin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things change for everyone when Buffy alters the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Buffy felt numb as she walked toward Stiles and Lydia. The cut on her hand stung a little. 

She wasn't sure why the demon had set out to kill Stiles, but there had been no real fight in it, just an acceptance of death. She thought about power: who had it and who didn't. Why anyone or anything would want to kill Stiles right in front of her and Lydia. 

The first Slayer had been given abilities against her will, but she survived for as long as she could. Long enough to produce an heir, who produced more of her own. The Slayer line spread as the world grew. To her. To Faith. To women who never became Slayers at all, and their children. 

Like Renee and Stiles.

Buffy thought about a day when she decided to sacrifice herself to save the sister that had never really been hers to begin with. They shared blood, even though it was only through some kind of spell that had created Dawn.

By the time she reached the two high-schoolers, she knew what she had to do. She reached into her pocket with her bleeding hand and pulled the cloth bag out, then loosened the drawstring and shook the crystal out into her palm. The light purple looked darker, stained in her own blood. She knelt down on the other side of Stiles and pressed the crystal against one of the slashes in his skin, refusing to look at his face. She didn't want to see the sightless eyes of someone she hadn't saved in time. 

"What are you doing?" Lydia demanded, snapping out of her daze. 

"I'm fixing it." Buffy lifted the crystal and turned it over in her hands, then snapped it in half. 

The world around her faded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He glanced up when he heard a knock on the door. "Yes? Come in." 
> 
> The door swung open, and there she was, looking the same as the first time he had seen her. 
> 
> "I'm Summer." The blonde girl gave him a questioning look when he only stared back at her. "Um, I think I was supposed to come here and check in or something?"

Anne Steele stared at the man sitting across the table from her. "I'm sorry, but I'm still not sure I understand. Can you just explain it one more time, please?" She had agreed to have lunch with someone who claimed it was a business meeting, but it seemed like he was more interested in ruining what she had so carefully built over the years. 

William sighed. "For the fifth time, then. Buffy cast a spell on herself and most everyone around her, makin' herself younger and messing with their memories to fit things in as necessary for herself. I can't say I understand how it works altogether, but she somehow managed to make it so that I wasn't affected. Mostly. The only reason I'm even talking to you about her and using that name for her is because I heard you say it first." He sipped his drink and smiled to himself, a reverent expression on his face as he stared at the glass. "I forgot how good things can taste." He murmured, then looked up at her. "She made me human, somehow or other. No need for me to question it any further 'n that. I'm enjoying it, so far." 

"So you want me to..." 

"Be the new principal of her high school. Her sister... that is, the one that _was_ her sister, is married now to the current principal, and he's only there temporarily. You would come and be the permanent replacement. And as I understand it, you took one apartment she wasn't in need of, so you can come have the one that's still listed in her name, all nice and proper. Like she meant you to have it." 

"Where does that leave you?" Anne shook her head. "It just seems..." 

"It seems like her, is what it's like." William smiled. "And as I recall hearing about it, she gave you that chance to make something more of yourself and kept checking in on you to see if you needed her help. Well, now she needs yours." 

Anne glanced over her shoulder, in the direction of her third shelter. She had just opened it two days ago and was eager to see it make a difference in the lives of more teens in trouble, like she had once been. She looked back at William a moment later. "How big is this apartment?" 

*****

Angel stared at the framed certificate on his desk as he twisted a ring around on his finger. Willow's spell had given her an entirely new life, full of memories of things that had never happened. The only person that remained was Oz, but she knew him as someone else. Oz, fortunately enough, hadn't been cursed to forget things as they really were. Buffy's spell, on the other hand, had manipulated the memories of nearly everyone around her. Spike had somehow escaped that, gaining his humanity back in the process. Meanwhile, Angel had two different sets of memories.

He still remembered things as they were: he left Buffy behind in Sunnydale and moved to Los Angeles, only seeing her a few times before Sunnydale's implosion. 

The new memories were easier to recognize because he was happier in them, and he wasn't sure what that said about him. Nothing good, probably. 

Instead of moving away after Buffy's senior year, he stayed behind, searching for the Gem of Amara that summer and racing against time to find it before Spike. In the end, Spike had managed to find it first - but Buffy stole it from him and gave it to Angel. Being presented with a way to walk around in daylight hours, Angel had immediately asked Oz to help him get documents that looked real enough that he could become a legal citizen. He had enrolled in the same classes as Buffy, even though they had actually broken up. 

He remembered how furious she had been, yelling at him that he had no right to be so close when he had broken up with her in the first place. At least that memory hadn't been altered. 

Even after Buffy withdrew from classes, Angel found himself continuing with his own education. He loved history the most, having lived through (and caused) so much of it himself. But he stuck with psychology because he felt like history was too easy for him, and learning that there were legitimate reasons why he behaved the way he did - well, it was fascinating. 

Ultimately, he had learned that he was prone to addictions: alcohol, vampirism, murder. Buffy. 

That's why he had let her go, intending this time to be permanent, after Sunnydale imploded. 

He smiled to himself, wondering why the universe wanted him to stay so tormented. He wasn't just going to be close to Buffy, who was once again a teenager, knowing he could never have her. He was also taking over her old position as the school's guidance counselor. 

Angel was still a vampire, but Spike - William, now - had given him the ring and convinced him to move to the town that was even smaller than Sunnydale had been. They needed him here, so he had agreed. 

He glanced up when he heard a knock on the door. "Yes? Come in." 

The door swung open, and there she was, looking the same as the first time he had seen her. 

"I'm Summer." The blonde girl gave him a questioning look when he only stared back at her. "Um, I think I was supposed to come here and check in or something?" 

"Right." Angel cleared his throat. "Well, you know. Only if you want to." 

She hesitated. "Really?" 

"Really." He smiled to encourage her, startled when she pulled the door shut and left him sitting alone in his office. 

*****

"Trick or treat!" Summer grinned and held up a basket, shaking it at him. "You're supposed to give us candy, Peter." 

"Aren't you a little too old for that?" Peter smirked and shook his head, but grabbed a large bowl from the table beside the door and dropped a few pieces into her basket. "Who exactly are the two of you supposed to be?" He glanced from her to Stiles. 

"You seriously can't figure it out?" Summer looked disappointed as she glanced at her twin brother. She had been planning out their costumes since school started. Last year, they had been Artemis and Apollo. She knew that a lot of people thought they were too old to have similar costumes, but it was a tradition that neither of them wanted to give up. Their mom had started it when they were little. It was their way of honoring her. 

"I told you nobody would get it." Stiles laughed. 

"They're Hansel and Gretel." Derek spoke up from behind Peter. He nodded to Stiles. "Are you coming over after you're done?" 

"You just want some of my candy." Stiles accused, grinning. 

"These innuendos are killing me." Peter muttered. 

"Don't worry, RePete. You always come back." Stiles said quickly, then looked back at Derek. "We're supposed to meet up with everybody after this. But you can come with us, if you want. Or we'll call you. I'll call you, I mean." 

"Stop being awkward with your boyfriend." Summer teased. 

Peter leaned against the doorframe and smiled at Summer. "I don't see any bread crumbs." 

Summer reached into her pocket and held up a container of glitter. "The only way we're getting lost is if the Cullens are hiding out on your property. We'll be in the woods later. Don't expect to surprise us." She put the glitter back in her basket and held up a taser. "I'm also prepared not to let anyone steal my candy." She aimed the device at Peter. "One joke. One joke and I'll make you sorry." 

*****

"I'm still having a hard time believing you're twins, and I've known you both since we were eight." Lydia took off her witch hat and set it on the table, opening her compact to make sure her hair wasn't a mess. 

Stiles glanced up from the napkin he had been drawing fangs on. "Why? Because she doesn't dance like an octopus that somebody set on fire?" 

Lydia rolled her eyes. "No. Even though that's true, that you do. We'll work on that one of these days. You two don't even look alike." 

"Yeah, well... science." Stiles muttered. "Which you're supposed to be good at. People can only have different dads and be twins on soap operas. Or if our mom had two uteruses." He laughed when Lydia snorted. "I spend too much time online. She looks like our dad, and I look like our mom. We both manipulate things to our advant-" He was on his feet a second later, pushing his way through the crowd to get to his sister, who had collapsed. "Summer! What happened?" 

Summer sat up, frowning. "I don't know. One minute, I was fine. And then I - wasn't. I think I need fresh air." 

"I'll take her." Scott spoke up, putting his hand on Stiles' shoulder. "I feel kind of trapped in here, anyway. Too many people." 

Stiles nodded and backed up, giving his best friend room to help his sister stand up. He walked back over to the table and sat down, frowning at Scott and Summer as they walked outside. "That was weird." 

"Stiles. We know werewolves. Somebody fainting isn't weird." Lydia put her hat back on. "Come dance with me." She waved her hand in front of his face. "Stiles? Unless you think Derek might rip my face off?" She sighed. "You're not that much older than her. You don't have to be her big brother all the time." 

*****

Summer leaned against the patio railing and glanced over at Scott, blushing when she realized he was staring at her. "What?" 

"I feel like an idiot." Scott admitted. "Allison broke up with me and I spent all summer thinking that I couldn't wait for her to get back from France with her dad because I wanted to go out with her again. But she's been back for a month and I barely noticed." 

Summer turned to face Scott. "Because of studying?" She laughed. "Okay, I'm not good at being subtle. That was me trying to get you to explain a little more, but I think I know where this is going. Maybe." 

"Stiles is going to kill me." Scott whined. 

"He'll have to get past me first." She took a step toward him. "Um, it's okay if... I mean, you didn't actually say..." 

"I want to go out with you. On dates. And stuff." Scott stammered. "Okay?" 

"And stuff." Summer repeated, smiling faintly. "Kissing?" 

"I like kissing." Scott leaned in to kiss her, as though he needed to prove it.

Summer backed away before their lips met and spun around, punching Peter Hale in the mouth. She looked horrified. "Oh my god, I didn't even... I'm so sorry. I was just... and you were there... sorry. Wow. My hand doesn't even hurt." 

"I was only going to walk past you both." Peter grimaced when he pulled his hand away from his mouth and saw blood on his fingers. "Are you wearing brass knuckles, by chance?" 

"No?" Summer looked down at her hands in confusion. "That's weird." 

"I suppose it's better than you electrocuting me or setting my bed on fire." Peter winked at Summer. He was actually grateful to the girl for hitting him; it made it easier to lie because his heart was racing from the shock to his system. He had been watching Summer for the last five minutes and had _conveniently_ bumped into her just before Scott could put any sort of physical claim on her. He didn't care about the difference in their ages, he just couldn't stop thinking about the way her scent had mingled with the smoke that still permeated the home of the Argents, from the day that Kate's room had caught fire. When he had blatantly admitted that he knew she was responsible, she got a look in her eye like she was pleased that someone was paying attention to her. He really doubted that Scott McCall, king of all oblivious teenage boys, could be the kind of person she needed. 

"Wait. Why would she set your bed on fire?" Scott looked puzzled. 

Peter stared at the boy in disbelief, watching as the metaphorical lightbulb turned on over his head. 

"Oh! So, wait. You were the one that set Kate's room on fire?" Scott asked Summer. 

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Yeah, but this stays between us, please? Besides, I made sure it didn't get out of control or anything. I was careful. Could you... I kind of want to talk to Peter for a minute, if that's okay. Privately." 

Scott gave Peter a wary look, but nodded to Summer and walked back into the building. 

"When you hear the sound of rocks smashing together, just know that it's his brain at work." Peter remarked. "You won't be hearing it very much." 

"Stop." Summer shook her head. "This isn't... it's not like Stiles and Derek. You're a lot older than me and everybody pretty much hates you because you won't let them see that you're actually not evil. I think you're too afraid that they'll reject you anyway, if you did give them a chance to know you. I want to be with someone my own age. At least for a little while. I'm not even seventeen yet, and it wouldn't be fair of you to expect me to keep you a secret from them and make them hate me, too." 

"And in the meantime, you'll just date Scott McCall for the foreseeable future, never letting on that you're not that interested?" Peter smiled coldly. "You're much more cruel than people give you credit for. In fact, I'd say you're about as wicked as they think I am." 

"Don't." Summer blurted. 

"Don't what? Tell the truth?" Peter looked at the door, then back at her. "Well, at least after tonight, I'll know Scott's new password for his laptop. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go read up on the amount of iron in everything you eat." 

Summer sighed when Peter was gone. She didn't feel like going back into the building, so she sent Stiles a text, instead. 'Going home to marathon Halloween. Tell Lydia and Scott bye for me.'


End file.
